Recent content by vnwatson

The trickle filters I'm finding seem to be very large compared to the tanks they are in and seem to cause a lot of mess (water escaping the system.) Perhaps I'm looking up the wrong thing?

I was planning on using sand? Would it work still with sand? Also, how do you access the filter cartridges? Sorry, I'm new (1 year) to keeping fish, so I have lots to learn still. Lol!

This is an idea I had for the decor of the tank. I'm planning on just putting my 2 mollies and my guppy in it, so they aren't aggressive at all with each other. Not sure if plants would fit the theme at all or if I should use plants? My mollies usually don't touch the plants I currently have...

Looking to buy a 5 gallon with a 'hidden' filter that doesn't get in the way when cleaning or aquascaping. It would also be a bonus if it had a built in heater so I don't have to have the ugly thing handing on the back of the tank. Anyone have any ideas?

The worst part is, along with the bad heater, I had a bad thermometer which read a constant 78 deg. I ended up cooking a poor betta over night before I even realized the problem! It was absolutely awful. I still feel extremely sad and guilty for killing the little guy.

I wasn't aware of that. My test strips indicate that 0 is safe, while .5 is caution. Anything above .5 is indicated as danger.

My nitrate level is 0-20, Nitrite is 0-.5, harness is about a 100 (the only thing that struck me as particularly unusual), Alkalinity is 0-40 and pH is about a 6.9.

All my readings are perfect. He’s in a 3.5 gallon tank (a bit small, but it’s the best I can do.) He has a filter and a heater, (though the water without the heater is a steady 75° and with the heater the water gets way too hot, so I leave it off currently.) I do a 50%-70% water change every week.

All of the pictures are from when I first bought him. I received him with the black on the fins.

Not sure if my betta has fin rot or if it’s black coloring? He has the black coloring on his gills too, so I’m not sure if it is coloring or rot of some kind. Would love to know your opinions! I have 5 ghost shrimp (they get along very well) with him in his tank, so I’ll have to either be very...